ENVS 2130 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Food Miles, Urban Agriculture, Food Security

• School: University of Guelph
• Department: Environmental Sciences
• Course: ENVS 2130
• Professor: Kim Bolton

Document Summary

Unit 7 food waste and local food. Learned earlier in the course, a large amount of the food we produce globally does. Instead it is wasted throughout the entire food production system. This is an issue that needs to be examined. Public concern over climate change has resulted in an increasing interest in the distance our food travels from its origin (food miles). We are told that consuming food with smaller food miles is better for the environment because transportation relies on energy and therefore emits. In this unit we will also look at this claim. Describe the magnitude of, and factors associated with, the food waste problem. Describe what is meant by food miles. Describe the benefits associated with urban agriculture. The issue of food waste is absolutely critical in any discussion of food sustainability. Remember that we are concerned about producing enough food for the global population and, at the same time, limiting our impact on the planet.